Does anyone really know what is happening with the economic state of the commercial construction? I think for most people out and about, they will tell you the state is miserable to weak, but seemingly once every few weeks a report comes out that sings the praises of health and growth. (And yes I know there are various reports that say things suck too- but the “good” reports are what are baffling) So what is it? Personally I think it’s both… yes both… I believe that the economy on our side is very weak, but I also do see signs of life, but those signs are minimized by the overcapacity in our world. And overcapacity has led to pricing erosion that has never been seen before. So any bright spots are getting minimized, at least until the herd gets thinned out there and quite frankly you wonder if that will happen. So until then everyone keeps plugging along and all of those positive reports get to be taken with a gigantic grain of salt.
Elsewhere…
-- What a wild and wacky week that just passed. Again I am thankful and blown away by the support out there and there’s no doubt I look forward to hopefully staying as active as possible in our industry.
-- Also as I noted last week, Rick Silverstein was also let go, and on Tuesday, my brother Steve too was released. Since I am easier to reach being out there on forums like this, people have been able to find me, but for them it’s been tougher. And especially giving up phone numbers after so many years, that makes you almost invisible. Anyway, to contact Rick, hit him up at Rsilverstein13@gmail.com and for Steve Stevepglas@comcast.net
-- In the last few weeks I covered both the good news from Guardian and PPG as it results to Solar. Well I missed one other big one on that note which was Pilkington’s deal with Dyesol. That too has absolutely monstrous potential going forward. So proof again that when you have people of the level I have mentioned here and in the past in the solar game, that segment is not going to just go away. Plus when I wrote my first missive, I did get called on the carpet by Solar guru George Petzen, who set me straight on my comments there too.
-- LinkedIn has become a fun aside for me. Some interesting debates and links that I would’ve missed otherwise. Also daily I get to see who I consider right now the Kings of LinkedIn, the guys from Gorell Industries (Brian Zimmerman and Tyson Schwartz) as they are amazing in the way they positively spread the word about their operation and the industry at large. It’s like mini daily blogs from those guys and good stuff. Obviously it all depends on who you are “connected” to, so I guess I am lucky I am in their loop.
-- Lost in last week’s craziness was the fact I wanted to say I am sorry to everyone in Cleveland for the whole LeBron James debacle. My gosh, what a way to get your heart ripped out as a sports fan. The Cavs this year will be the first and only Cleveland sports team I could ever root for, as I hope they somehow find a miracle and do better than the Heat.
-- Football training camps start next week…. Which means Fantasy Football drafts are not far behind…
-- Last, two great industry events are right around the corner and coming up fast… GANA Fall Conference is just about a month away August 23rd in KC. Then the following month is GlassBuild America (along with the Glass Executive Forum) in Las Vegas. Have you made plans yet? During times like this, the better the networking, the better educated, and the better informed you are does set you apart from the masses.
Off to the LINKS
Man I have not done links in weeks… so I am probably rusty….
-- Time Magazine just did a list of the Top 20 reasons to “hate the airlines” and it was pretty good… though I could think of a few more.
-- Pepsi and Coke fighting again, but this time over Pepsi Max and Coke Zero. Umm what are those brands? Gimme a Diet Dr. Pepper anytime over either one…
-- Wild story on a town that instead of replacing the asphalt roads, is letting them return to gravel… geez I guess the stimulus isn’t helping them…
Video of the Week
In case you missed the ESPY’s last week (which were actually good in my opinion… Seth Meyers was tremendous as host) they did a pretty decent take off on the LeBron James “Decision” show. The skit could’ve been better, but still was solid and here it is in case you missed…
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